A cable tie, which may also be called a zip tie and/or tie-wrap, is a type of fastener, which is often typically used for binding a plurality of electronic cables or wires together and to organize cables and wires. Cable ties are used to bundle a plurality of items together in an efficient and quick manner.
A conventional cable tie is generally constructed of a linear semi rigid resiliently bendable material that can be bent to form a loop and the loop can be secured with a fastening mechanism integrated with the cable tie. The loop formed is not self sustaining since the material from which this sort of cable tie is made does not hold the shape which has been formed by bending. This type of cable tie is elastic and, unless the cable tie is bended so far that it reaches a state of placidity and becomes floppy, it recoils to its original linear shape.
The conventional cable tie comprises a strap that is made of a resiliently bendable material such as nylon or plastic or copper or stainless steel alloy or metal alloy that can be bent to form a loop but will not hold the bend or the loop. I.e. these cable ties are self reforming or elastic. This type of cable tie will revert substantially to its linear form when the tensile strain used to bend it is no longer applied. A tail portion of this conventional cable tie can be inserted into an aperture in the head of the conventional cable tie. On insertion of the tail portion into the aperture of the head, latches spaced along the surface of the tail portion engage teeth in the head and thereby prevent the withdrawal of the tail. In this way, the loop in the cable tie can be prevented from reforming to its pre-deformed shape.
Another kind of cable tie that contains a fastening mechanism comprises an elastically rubberized strap of cells that contain apertures wherein the cells slide through each other forming loops at any point, which can then be pulled tight around a bundle of objects. After the cable tie is pulled tight into a loop, the remaining portion can be cut off and used. As a result a cable tie of this strap of cells type can be used or cut up into several cable ties, and just gets a little shorter with each use. One type of cable tie such as this is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,704,587 to Harsley, which is incorporated herein by reference and made a part hereof. Because the strap of cells type of cable tie is made of an elastic material it stretches longer when longitudinal stress is exerted upon it, and reforms towards its pre deformed shape when the stretching force is no longer applied. This strap of cells kind of cable tie is often referred to as a “rap strap”.
Another type of known cable tie that includes a fastening mechanism is a strap made of hook and loop fasteners. The strap consists of two layers: a “hook” side, which is a piece of fabric covered with tiny plastic hooks, and a “loop” side, which is covered with even smaller and “hairier” plastic loops. Like all other known cable tie fasteners that contain a fastening mechanism, these hook and loop type of fasteners are not shapeable in the sense that they do not hold the shape that they are formed to. While a cable tie made of a resiliently flexible material does not sustain its own shape because it tends to reform to its pre deformed shape after the tensile strain used to bend it is no longer applied, a cable tie such as a rap strap or a cable tie made with hook and loop fastening material can not hold its own shape for a different reason. The material used in these later cable ties are so flaccid that they do not hold the shape they are formed to against the force of gravity.
One of the major disadvantages of the prior art cable ties with integrated fastening mechanisms is that these cable ties are not comprised of a bendable shapeable, non reforming material As such, it is difficult to use the cable tie when it is necessary to thread one end of such prior art cable ties through, or in between voids in a confined area. For example when a particular application requires that a cable tie with a fastening head, be threaded in and around hard to reach objects the task is made more difficult when the cable tie tends to revert to its original shape. Likewise, the task is difficult when a cable tie that comprises a floppy, non rigid material is used. While a resiliently bendable, flexible, cable tie can be bent to a point of plasticity or near plasticity so that it is shaped to form a loose curve that approximates the contours of the receiving channel into which it is to be treaded, this is a time consuming task that results in a cable tie whose structure has been compromised by the extreme bending, and as such, the formerly semi rigid flexible cable tie becomes excessively floppy and unmanageable.
The prior art discloses a type of cable tie that can be bent to a self sustaining shape but this type of cable tie does not contain a fastening mechanism. Such a cable tie is often called a “twist tie”. A major feature of a twist tie that is absent in a cable tie comprising a fastening mechanism is that a twist tie can be shaped into a form and the form will retain its shape until reformed by a user. A twist tie is comprised of a shapeable and bendable wire that is embedded in paper or plastic. It is often used to close off a plastic bag that contains a perishable item, such as bags of bread. A twist tie can be formed into a loop that can be secured in size by twisting the twist tie around itself. However, because these twist ties do not contain a fastening mechanism, they do not have all the same benefits as a cable tie containing a fastening mechanism, for instance, a loop cannot be fastened quickly as a loop can be with a cable tie.
A disadvantage of twist ties is that they do not contain an integrated fastening mechanism. Thus, although a twist tie can be pre formed, it does not have the capability of being quickly, securely and easily fastened together as does a cable tie that contains a fastening mechanism. A twist tie has to be manually twisted, or tied together, and this can be time consuming and cumbersome and often results in a less than adequate connection.